chairman of our board of directors called me into a meeting today to tell me the same thing. They wanted me to take time off, since I’d been directly attacked, but I told them no. I can’t let up on this legislation until I’m sure it’s going to pass. I mean…”
As she talked, Clint studied her more closely. Man, she was pretty. Creamy skin, bright hazel eyes. And that hair. Thick and lush and so soft looking, his fingertips itched to touch it. That mouth of hers, pink and pert, kept moving though he wasn’t really listening to what she was saying anymore. Instead he wondered if she tasted as luscious as she looked.
“What do you think?” Tara asked, her smile expectant and her eyes sparkling with interest. “Or is that a conflict of interest for you?”
Well, shit.
Clint had no idea what she was talking about, and he only had himself to blame. Again.
Fuck.
He coughed and fidgeted in his seat, trying to buy some time so he didn’t look even stupider than he already felt. Man, he’d never thought he was like his mother—getting distracted at the drop of a hat—but now it seemed he took after her way more than he wanted to admit. And didn’t that just suck even harder than the rest of this situation. His mother was the last person in the universe Clint wanted to be like.
Finally, he couldn’t pretend any longer and said, “I’m sorry. Can you repeat the question?”
Tara gave him an odd look. “I asked if I could hire you to be my personal bodyguard.”
Oh.
His first reaction was hell no. Based on his reactions to her whenever they were together, watching her twenty-four-seven was likely to drive him insane. Or at least give him the worst case of blue balls in the history of mankind.
But then, as he sat there and thought about it, maybe it wasn’t such a crazy idea. It would give him a chance to suss out more about what happened that day at the rally, and maybe being around her would help him uncover who might be behind the attack. Plus, it would give him a chance to atone for his failures that day, as long as he could keep his mind on the task at hand and out of her pants.
He could do that. He would do that. Because otherwise, this wouldn’t work at all.
Clint was nothing if not disciplined. He just needed to call on his famous, well-honed control.
But there was one question he needed answered first. “It was your board of directors who insisted that I be put on leave. Are they going to have a problem with me being your bodyguard?”
She thought about this for a minute, then shook her head. “I’m paying for you out of my own pocket, so I don’t see where they have the right to object. I was told it was my choice—and you’re the one I trust.”
“Okay then,” he said, before he talked himself out of it again. “You’ve got yourself a bodyguard, Ms. Crumb.”
“Tara, please. And yay!” She stood and came around the desk to shake his hand at the same time that the office door opened and Ashley came running back inside.
“Daddy! Daddy!” his daughter said, jumping around his legs with excitement. “You won’t believe what I saw. It was so cool…”
While Ashley rambled on about her tour, Clint grinned over at his new client. “Tara. I’ll call you later, once we get home, so we can iron out all the details. Will that work?”
“Yes. Absolutely.” She gave him her cell number, then waved as they headed for the door. “Talk to you soon.”
“Yep.” Clint ran back to grab Ashley’s iPad from the sofa, then headed out into the hall, feeling an odd mix of anxiety and anticipation tightening his gut. He’d need to run this by the guys at SSoF and find someone to watch Ashley while he worked, but man. He’d be working again. And if all went well, he might even be able to get to the bottom of what happened with the shooting. He felt better than he had in days now, all thanks to Tara.
5
Once they were assured that it wouldn’t be an issue with GGE’s board of directors, the guys at SSoF were surprisingly okay with his new assignment. In fact, they both encouraged him to go for it. So yeah. Check one item off the list.
It actually worked out great with Ashley too. She had kindergarten, and then after